This Is Jersey quotes Dawn as saying: "Bill was part of my family. When you work with someone for so long, as we did, it becomes more than just work.

"Our families were close and I am devastated for [wife] Ali and his family. I am totally bereft. He will always be remembered by everyone he came into contact with because he was such a kind and generous man. You couldn't wish to meet a more lovely man and a true gentleman. He was a gentle giant and I will miss him so much."

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Julie Goodyear, Liz Dawn and Bill Tarmey as Corrie's Bet Lynch, Jack and Vera Duckworth in The Rovers Return.
Copyright: Rex Features ITV/Rex Features
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He went on: "In every way he was the true gent... I was young when I first started [and] he put his arm round me and guided me at the age of 16... and that was a mark of the man... He would literally do anything for anybody."

Describing Tarmey's significance for Corrie, Halsall added: "For someone of my generation, Bill as Jack and [Liz as] Vera was Mr and Mrs Coronation Street to me, and, yeah, every storyline that I remember seems to have something to do with Jack and Vera, so, yeah, I loved him as his character but as a man I love him a lot more."
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